Atleast they could have searched for the right designs to fake. Even if one forgoes the hysterical Bean-y nose, the edge style, the font on the lettering, the size of letters, & even the design on the obverse is wrong. It a shame even on part of the faker. I do not know if I should be happy that the fake was caught, and no-one (I guess) was duped, or be sad that the fakers don't even see such a beautiful coin with respect and think that the coin doesn't command much time. The original coin is beautiful. See Numista: 1 Rupee- George VI 1938-39. Isn't it amazing, the intricate details, designed by Sir Percy Metcalfe.

regards,Soubhik.

PS- While I say so in this case there are so many china made fakes out there we need to be wary of. They are of the exact shape, size, details and dimensions. In some cases, even the same metal composition, and toning/age and patina. But fakes. Of very high quality. The average Joe with years of experience may not even sometimes detect the fake. Please be wary of such fakes. "Always buy the book, before you buy the coin" as the saying goes.

Soubhik has a good point. A lot of work went into making this coin and the result is an obvious fake. Look at the obverse lettering. Each letter was cut by a slightly shaky hand, yet they are all well formed and aligned. I think the dies were hand cut and the precision of the die cutter is at the same time incredibly good and by far not good enough to imitate a machine.

My guess is that the faker didn't have a genuine copy at hand and didn't have the knowledge or wits to work from a cheap date specimen but did have a picture of a genuine coin. Maybe it was the text that came with the illustration that inspired him. The image arises of a highly skilled metal worker in a desperately poor area. What do you think, Soubhik?

Peter

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An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

My guess is that the faker didn't have a genuine copy at hand and didn't have the knowledge or wits to work from a cheap date specimen but did have a picture of a genuine coin. Maybe it was the text that came with the illustration that inspired him. The image arises of a highly skilled metal worker in a desperately poor area.

Yup I agree to that. The coin in discussion KM#555 was minted by Bombay mint in 1938-39. About 7,352,000 (w/o dot) & 2,450,000 (w/ dot) were minted approximately. Gives a total mintage of 9,802,000 such coins.

Compare that with these coins of the almost same design- KM#556 and KM#557 having total mintages of 264,600,000 and 571,745,000 coins, spread over a greater date span- almost the same design, except for a minor tweaks here and there. So, it's mostly that even the fakers could not afford the coin for purposes of faking it. The die, thus must be handcut, whose signs are clearly visible in the designs and edges, and the edge reedings.

A lot of such fakes are being sold over the internet. Sadly, the demand for such coins far exceeds the demand for information about such coins. A result- people are getting duped. I found this site, where the fake version is even sold out!! I believe, even a few auction houses of repute are auctioning these (the coin in picture is most probably fake) here.

"Always buy the book, before you buy the coin." as the saying goes. If the price it is being offered for is too good to be true, it is almost always too good to exist.

A lot of such fakes are being sold over the internet. Sadly, the demand for such coins far exceeds the demand for information about such coins. A result- people are getting duped. I found this site, where the fake version is even sold out!! I believe, even a few auction houses of repute are auctioning these (the coin in picture is most probably fake) here.

best regards,Soubhik.

I think you are mixing the dates here. We are talking about 1939, whereas both the coins you are referring are 1938.

1938 is a scarce coin but not rare. You can get a reasonably good coin for about Rs 6000-7000. So, Marudhar Arts coin seems Ok for the price.

1938 is a scarce coin but not rare. You can get a reasonably good coin for about Rs 6000-7000. So, Marudhar Arts coin seems Ok for the price.

Yes, I didn't notice the years 1938 and 1939 among them. Mixed up a little. 1939 is really an exotic variant. I checked the 2006 edition of KM 1901-2000 catalog. The 1938 is really inexpensive compared to the 1939 version.

Apologies for the mixup in the dates with links provided in the previous reply (last para).